Weekly Toll: A Few American Workers Who Will Never Come Home

Not a good week to be a worker in Indiana (California and Florida weren’t so hot either.)

Construction worker killed in accident near Willmar

Holland Township, MN — A man tiling a field in central Minnesota died on Friday morning in a workplace accident. The construction company employee was installing drainage tile in the field near 60th Street SW and 150th Avenue SW in Holland Township when the accident was reported just before noon. The 31 year old was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders. It’s believed he may have been pinned between some heavy equipment. The man’s identity has not yet been release as his family is still being informed.

Milford, MI — One person was killed Thursday morning in a crash involving two trucks on westbound I-96. Michigan State Police say the accident happened just before 6 a.m. near Milford Road. The driver of a semi truck had engine problems, and pulled over to the shoulder as much as possible. We’re told the driver of a large box truck crashed into the end of the semi truck. MSP says the male driver of the box truck was killed instantly in the crash. Authorities didn’t give his name yet. The driver in the semi truck wasn’t hurt.

SAN JUAN County, Utah — Two men were killed and a third critically injured in an industrial accident at the Intrepid Potash Mine in Moab early Saturday afternoon. According to a statement by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, the accident happened when industrial equipment the men were operating came in contact with a power line. “Russell Helquist and Matthew Johnston died at the scene while the 3rd victim, Arthur Secrest, was found unconscious but breathing,” the sheriff’s office statement said.

Truck driver killed in crash on 15 Freeway in Cajon Pass

Cajon Pass, CA — One person was killed Thursday morning in a crash involving a semi-truck on the southbound I-15 Freeway. The San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office identified the man killed in a tractor-trailer crash as Gabriel Edwardo Torres, 40, of Hesperia. The California Highway Patrol incident logs indicated the accident happened just before 11:20 a.m. in the escape ramp and involved a tractor pulling double trailers loaded with rock and gravel. Emergency personnel arrived on scene, and despite life-saving measures, the adult male driver of the truck was pronounced deceased.

KYTC Employee Killed In Wolfe County Crash

WOLFE COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18)– A Kentucky Transportation Cabinet employee was killed in a crash Thursday. The crash happened around 1 p.m. on Thursday on Ky 205 near the junction of Ky 191. An initial investigation by the Kentucky State Police indicates John Fugate, 48, was killed when a vehicle driven by Jamie Fallen crossed the centerline on KY 205 and struck Fugate’s truck head-on.

SC school crossing guard dies 8 days after being struck by car

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Authorities say a 73-year-old crossing guard has died eight days after being struck by a car while directing traffic outside a South Carolina elementary school. Investigators say they still haven’t found the car or the driver who hit Emma Taylor on Tuesday of last week outside a Spartanburg County elementary school. Coroner Rusty Clevenger said Taylor died Wednesday evening at a hospital.

St. Pete sanitation director, a 48-year employee, dies in crash

St. Petersburg, FL — Benjamin Shirley, the sanitation director for the city of St. Petersburg, died on Nov. 8 while driving his personal vehicle. He worked for the city for nearly 48 years, the St. Petersburg Police Department said in a note about his death. While driving, Shirley veered off the road after having suffered a medical episode, struck several trees and a power pole wire. No other vehicles were involved, the police said. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Worker dies after falling at business in Plymouth

PLYMOUTH, Ind. — An employee of a roofing company fell to his death at a business where he was doing work on Thursday. The Marshall County Coroner said 46-year-old Oscar Gallardo Zarate, of Muncie, was working for 5 Star Commercial Roofing at American Containers in Plymouth when he fell approximately 25 feet. Emergency crews responded quickly, but Zarate died of his injuries. The president of American Containers said they are distressed and disturbed by what happened.

Guard, officer killed in the nation’s latest mass shooting

Thousand Oaks, CA — The gunman began his rampage by shooting an unarmed security guard outside a country-music bar in California, police said. After the attacker began firing on patrons inside, a sergeant with the sheriff’s office charged into the building to confront him and was cut down by gunfire. In addition to the death of veteran Sgt. Ron Helus of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday, four police officers were shot while responding to a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue on Oct. 27.

Texan killed in workplace accident

North Platte, NE — Authorities have released the name of a man who died Wednesday at Western Engineering. Andrew Martinez, 28, died after becoming trapped in asphalt plant equipment. Martinez was originally from Weslaco, Texas, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s Office ruled the death an accident.

TIPMONT REMC LINEMAN KILLED IN CRASH

LINDEN, Ind. (WLFI) — A Tipmont REMC lineman was killed in a crash Tuesday while returning to the office, according to a spokesperson for the company. Josh Chieppo, 35-years-old, died after a single vehicle crash in Montgomery County. It happened around 4:30 p.m. on County Road 400 North near County Road 225 West. A Tipmont spokesperson said Chieppo and another employee were in a company vehicle returning to the Linden office from an outage restoration. The truck began to leave the roadway, the driver overcorrected and it rolled over. Chieppo was the passenger and died at the scene. The spokesperson said the driver, who is also an employee, was injured and is recovering in the hospital. Chieppo had worked for Tipmont as a Journeyman Lineman since 2010.

Man found dead in industrial accident near Florida landfill

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Authorities say a man has been found dead under a piece of machinery in an apparent industrial accident near a Florida landfill. Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Mike Jachles says the accident happened Friday morning. He says the man was pinned by the dump trailer, which attaches to a truck and has a hydraulic lift. The man’s name hasn’t been released.

Roadside worker killed on Interstate 80 near Seward

SEWARD COUNTY. NE – A 41-year-old roadside worker was killed after he helped repair a semi truck on the side of I-80, and was struck by that same vehicle when it attempted to leave. According to a press release from the Seward County Sheriff’s Office, Jeremy Covert, 41, of York, Nebraska, was killed on Wednesday around 4 p.m. on Interstate 80 near Mile Marker 368, roughly 11 miles west of the Seward exit. According to the release, the semi had pulled over on the shoulder of the interstate due to a mechanical issue, and the driver of the truck, Jon Christensen, 71, of Florida, requested roadside assistance for the mechanical issue. Two roadside assistance workers arrived and fixed the mechanical issue, and after they were done, Christensen began driving the semi without knowing Covert went back underneath.

One person killed in U.S. 31 crash involving semi tractor-trailer

ATLANTA, Ind. (WTHR) – One person is dead after a crash involving a semi tractor-trailer in northern Hamilton County. Hamilton County deputies said the semi was northbound on U.S. 31 in the right lane and did not see construction vehicles and arrow boards, signs directing traffic to merge into the left lane. Police said the driver of the semi was unable to merge or stop in time to avoid collision with the rear of a road construction vehicle. The impact forced the construction vehicle into 32-year-old Justin Nance of Anderson, a construction worker at the work site. Nance died as a result of his injuries.

LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C. – The Lancaster County community is grieving after a firefighter was hit by a vehicle and killed Wednesday night while directing traffic following a wreck, officials said. The assistant chief of the Charlotte Road/Van Wyck Fire Department, 59-year-old Dennis Straight, was directing traffic around 7 p.m. at an accident scene at the on-ramp to Highwayn 5 from the northboundlane of Highway 521 when the collision happened.

Cedarville woman killed in workplace accident

CLARK TOWNSHIP, MI — Troopers from the Michigan State Police (MSP) St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie posts investigated a workplace accident at Carmeuse Lime and Stone in Cedarville which resulted in the death of an employee. Troopers responded to the Carmeuse Lime and Stone facility on M-134 in Cedarville on Saturday, Nov. 3, at approximately 1:50 a.m. after receiving a report of an accident. They discovered that two Carmeuse vehicles had been involved in an incident in the pit, which resulted in the death of Jill Klein, a 44-year-old woman from Cedarville.

Truck driver killed in crash on I-20 East in Cobb

Cobb County, GA — A 32-year-old truck driver died in a crash on I-20 East in Cobb County on Friday, officials said. The driver was identified Monday as Kyra Brown of Flowery Branch, Cobb County police spokeswoman Officer Sarah O’Hara said in a statement. Investigators said Brown was driving west of Riverside Drive in a white Freightliner tractor-trailer shortly after 6 p.m. Friday. Then, “for unknown reasons,” the tractor-trailer left the road, went down a shoulder, up an embankment and into several trees, the statement said.

Dump truck driver killed in multi-vehicle crash on I-77 in Rock Hill

ROCK HILL, S.C. – Multiple lanes of Interstate 77 were shut down Tuesday in Rock Hill after one person was killed in a multi-vehicle crash, officials said. Officials said the driver of a dump truck died in the collision in the southbound lanes of I-77 between exits 82 and 79 just before 10:45 a.m. Officials identified the driver of the dump truck as Dave Beverlin, 71, of Fort Mill.

Nanshan employee died from fall

LAFAYETTE, IN — A crane knocked 51-year-old Kerry D. Wheeldon from a scissor lift, and he died from the fall inside Nanshan Amerca’s plant early Sunday, Tippecanoe County Coroner Donna Avolt said as she discussed Wheeldon’s autopsy results. The fall caused blunt force injuries to Wheeldon’s torso, which resulted in his death, Avolt said of Tuesday’s autopsy and its preliminary findings. Wheeldon was in a scissor lift performing maintenance on a crane when it shifted, and knocked him out of the lift, Avolt said. Wheeldon was wearing a safety harness, but it didn’t stop his fall, she said. The scissor lift which Wheeldon was standing on did not topple with him when the crane shifted, Avolt said.

Mississippi firefighter dies responding to fire, funeral set for Wednesday

Magee, MS — The funeral is set for Wednesday for a Mississippi firefighter who died in the line duty on Saturday. Dustin Grubbs, a two year veteran of the Magee Fire Dept., was killed while responding to a structure fire, according to fire dept. officials. Grubbs’ vehicle overturned after running off the road. Some firefighters were diverted to the crash scene while others. continued to respond to the fire.

Man working on dump truck in Bridgeport got collar stuck, choked to death

BRIDGEPORT, CT — A man working on a dump truck in the city Thursday night got his collar caught on a mechanism in the truck and was strangled to death, police said Friday. Ruben Rodriguez, 63, was working on the truck in the 300 block of Pearl Harbor Street when he started to have problems with the lighting he was using, an incident report said. “Rodriguez was underneath a dump truck working on the vehicle when the collar of his shirt/jacket was grabbed by the drive shaft of the truck,” Lt. Jeffery Grice said. Rodriguez’s friend, who lives across the street on Pearl Harbor Street, was helping Rodriguez and had gone inside to get a better light, Grice said. The other man was inside for a few minutes, Grice said. He raced back outside when he heard a loud noise, the incident report said. “(Rodriguez’s) collar got caught on the gear, on the drive shaft,” Police Chief Armando Perez said Friday. “It choked him to death.” The incident report said the other man found Rodriguez with his arm shaking and blood coming out of his ears. The man screamed for help and someone living nearby called 911.

Marin detox shooting victim ID’d as probe continues

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The suspect in a deadly gun rampage in San Rafael was arraigned on unrelated charges in Sonoma County while the Marin homicide investigation continued Tuesday. The attack killed a detox staffer and critically wounded two other people. The slain employee was Nathan Lamont Hill, 52, of Vallejo, the Marin coroner’s office reported Tuesday.

Maintenance worker found dead underneath lawn mower

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Deputies are investigating how a lawn maintenance worker died on Monday. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue told Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputies that man was discovered in a drainage pond under a lawn mower on Lakes of Delray Boulevard. First responders pronounced the man dead on scene.

1 Comment

Jordan, I signed up for this newsletter in the hopes that it would help me learn to be a better safety engineer. But the litany of horrific accidents is instead making me think of cutting my wrists. When I see your e-mail show up I think to myself, “Holy Crap, here we go again” – I honestly don’t know how to react – I mean, where do we go with these learnings?
I actually try to distill the traces of Risk Analysis into Risk CONTROL actionable intelligence but it’s a cross between squeezing jelly and playing Whack-A-Mole. The running log has also convinced me that OSHA, or for that matter any agency of government, is not going to change this procession of grief. There has to be some other influence – I’m thinking of how Michael Bloomberg went after health care costs by banning tobacco and sugar drinks in NYC. Does NIOSH or the CDC have any solutions in mind? It clearly will not be a legislative fix. My sincere thanks for your effort at educating us. I just need to work toward an outcome on all these learning episodes. I plan to use your website in a safety course I am teaching at VA Commonwealth University. The message is unmistakable and unfathomable at the same time.